The Del Air Rockhounds Club, Inc
Los Angeles - San Fernando Valley, California, United States
- We are a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing knowledge of the lapidary arts and techniques, geology, mineralogy and related fields.

On August 21, 2017, a total solar
eclipse will be visible across the United States, from Oregon to North
Carolina. 1979 was the last time such a cosmic event was visible in the
continental USA.

If you haven't seen what’s pictured in
the photographs above with your own naked eyes, then you have not seen a total
solar eclipse.

Club members Keri Dearborn and Michael
Lawshe have traveled from Australia to Mongolia to experience six total solar
eclipses and two annular solar eclipses. They will give a presentation
answering all of your questions. How is a solar eclipse different from a lunar
eclipse? What is a total solar eclipse? Where will you be able to see this
coming solar eclipse? Will it be visible in Los Angeles? Where are Keri and
Michael going? Do you need special equipment? How can you watch it safely? And
what kinds of phenomena might you experience in conjunction with the eclipse?

There is nothing like a total solar
eclipse and each one is unique. Come and discover why you should be excited...

If you are interested in joining this multi-club field trip,
please contact Del Air field trip chairman Jeff Dengrove either at the February
meeting or via e-mail at: dengrove@gmail.com
and he can provide the details and directions to this collecting site.

Punch
a small hole in the bottom of a large coffee can and place a light in it. It is
surprising how a light coming through the hole will show the dendrites within
the agate. This saves cutting time.

A
Gemstone with Two Personalities

Alexandrite
is a
gemstone with two personalities. It displays various shades of green in natural
light and red under artificial lights. Ideally Alexandrite shows a very
distinctive change, from grass green to raspberry red. One of the rarest of
gemstones, larger ones showing the distinct change of color are extremely hard
to find and are very costly. It

was
discovered in 1830 in the Ural region of Russia on the day Prince Alexander of
Russia came of age. It is found in limited quantities in Russia, Brazil, Sri
Lanka, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

A
Handy Hint

After
a tube of epoxy glue has been opened, dab a bit of Vaseline on the threads. The
cap will not stick and mess up your tube.